Big changes are sweeping Maine’s woods economy and there’s a lot of good news. New products are in production that you would never guess are made of wood. Engineered lumber is being manufactured in wall-size panels that can replace concrete and steel. And forestry is being retooled as a climate change mitigation tool. ​Join us for a day of discussion, demonstrations, and socializing at the Wood Innovators Conference.

Conference registration will open soon. In the meantime, we are looking help from community volunteers with skills in video production, photography, baking, set-up and folks who are just-plain-handy.

The conference showcases leading entrepreneurs and the most promising developments emerging from the Maine woods today. Innovation is not just about internet startups and new apps for cell phones. Some of the most promising job-producing innovation in Maine is happening in the woods, and in niche factories and laboratories.

Conference highlights include:

Russell Edgar of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine, will provide a progress report on the status of research into development of cross-laminated timber as a locally-sourced, green building material and alternative to concrete and steel in commercial construction.

Charlotte Mace of Biobased Maine and others will discuss and provide samples of fiber-based foam insulation, fiber-based cloth, wood pellets and other products that could provide a growing market for low-grade timber and wood residues.

Bob Perschel of the New England Forestry Foundation will lead a woodlot tour that demonstrates how “exemplary forestry” can transition a low-performing woodlot into a high performing one that produces more timber and greater carbon storage.

Leaders of the many policy initiatives in development will provide updates.

Conference presenters will outline the collective role that multiple sectors can play in reviving Maine’s woods economy. That includes builders and architects in their choice of building materials, developers and facilities managers in their choice of heating systems and landowners in their choice of woodlot management approaches.

“Here at Hiram Works, we’re turning a former sawmill into a woods business incubator, ” said Dan Dolgin, conference co-organizer and principal of Hiram Works. “It is not a competitive process. Clusters of innovation complement each other economically and generate programs of mutual benefit. The natural resources of rural New England, the available capital plants and the available labor force represent a win-win waiting for us to put into action. ”

The conference is jointly organized by Forest Works!, and Tear Cap Workshops, an educational non-profit based at Hiram Works.